Peace Corps Worldwide

Today is Giving Tuesday. I encourage you to participate by supporting your favorite charity. Below are those that I personally support in 2024 and to which I hope you will join me in making a generous donation. They are all (except NMCS) founded and led by returned Peace Corps Volunteers: Peace Corps Foundation* – It’s time to tell the rest of America’s story of our ongoing commitment to service and global citizenship by creating Peace Corps Park on a National Park Service site near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The long-term mission of the Foundation is to support Peace Corps community projects. Chijnaya Foundation – Working in partnership with rural communities in Southern Peru to design and implement self-sustaining projects in health, education, and economic development. CorpsAfrica* – Building the next generation of African leaders and changemakers, connecting rural communities, and nurturing entrepreneurs. Volunteers work in host communities to . . .

Carol Spahn, Director of the Peace Corps, joins Pacific Policy Pulse to discuss her trips to Fiji and Tonga, the challenges the Peace Corps faces, and why she’s reading Chris Voss’ “Never Split the Difference.” Click this link to watch the four-minute video on YouTube. Carol Spahn was sworn into office as the 21st Director of the Peace Corps on December 21, 2022. Director Spahn has more than 25 years of public and private sector experience and has worked in countries around the world on issues ranging from small business development and infectious disease prevention to women’s empowerment. Carol Spahn She most recently served as the Peace Corps’ chief executive officer and, prior to that, as acting director. Previously, Director Spahn was also the Peace Corps’ chief of operations in the Africa Region and the country director of Peace Corps/Malawi. Director Spahn’s Peace Corps roots extend back to when she . . .

The Volunteer Who Became the U. S. Ambassador to Indonesia, by Jerry Norris (Colombia 1963-65) Joseph R. Donovan attended Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, earning a B. S. Degree in Foreign Service in 1993. After graduating, he served for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Seoul, South Korea. He then went on to earn an M. A. in national security studies from the Naval Post Graduate school in 1993. He would spend most of his professional career as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) dealing with East Asia. His early assignments with the U. S. Department of State included stops in Taiwan, China, South Korea and Qatar. In 1997, he was named Chief of the political/military unit in the Embassy in Tokyo. His next posting was in Taipei, Taiwan as the political section chief in the American Institute in Taiwan., which represents U. S. interests in that nation. . . .

by Mark Jacobs (Paraguay 1978-80) Published in Hudson Review Autumn 2024 In the early hours of April 23, 1996, I was standing under a palm tree in the Plaza Uruguaya in Asunción, Paraguay. The plaza was empty, not just because of the hour, but because everyone in the capital believed a military coup was about to go down. The previous evening, General Lino Oviedo had holed up at an army barracks on the edge of the city, where he was threatening to roll his tanks on Mburuvicha Róga, the official residence of President Juan Carlos Wasmosy.   The coup had not yet happened, but the city—the whole country—instantly shut down. People went inside, closed their doors, and stayed there. Nothing was running, including public transportation. The media went into silent mode. Driving to the U.S. embassy, where I was serving as public affairs officer, I encountered no traffic on the roads. . . .

Diplomat couple from Hawley, Minnesota retires after 2 decades abroad together. The couple met in high school and went on to serve together in the same countries through their entire tenure in the Foreign Service.   From left, Tim Gerhardson, Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Christina Gerhardson participate in a retirement ceremony at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3, 2024. By Ingrid Harbo Today at 6:14 AM HAWLEY, Minn. — From Hawley, Minnesota, to Harare, Zimbabwe, Tim and Christina Gerhardson have stuck together. Originally from Hawley, Tim Gerhardson (Pakistan 1990-90), a Foreign Service officer, and Christina Gerhardson, a Foreign Service specialist, retired from 22 years as diplomats in the United States Foreign Service in June 2023. The couple met in high school and went on to serve together in the same countries throughout their tenure in the Foreign Service. “We just wouldn’t go otherwise,” Tim Gerhardson said. “We . . .